The Xavier cross country team finished its season at the state championships on Saturday, November 4 at Cave Creek Golf Course. They worked hard throughout the season and were able to capture second place.
The team has undergone intense training since June 1 to ensure that they would be competitive. According to Lily Beaver ‘24, this year was the hardest year of training she’s ever gone through in running.
At the beginning of training every year, the team goes to a camp in Flagstaff for a week in the summer to run, to bond and set goals for the season. This year’s team put together a dream board upon which they aimed to place in the top 3 or 5 at state, but as the season progressed the team’s focus shifted to competing with Highland High for the state championship.
“At camp every year we make goals, individual and team, and everyone has exceeded their individual goals,” said Dave Van Sickle, head coach.
One senior in particular, Julia Russo, has exceeded her individual goals tremendously, running an 18:42 at the Desert Twilight Invitational, and placing sixth at state with a time of 19:07.
The entire cross country team worked hard to exceed goals, especially the seven runners who ran at state: Julia Russo, Kaitlyn Markham ‘25, Lily Beaver, Ella Wadsworth ‘26, Maggie Mostoller ‘25, Jimena Gutierrez ‘24 and Bella Gomez ‘24.
All of the coaches did everything they could to ensure that the girls had the most successful season possible. Van Sickle had a large group of coaches assist him throughout the year: Vito Perrone, Eden Higgins, Andrea Williams, and Nissa Kubly.
“It’s my job to get them in the best shape that they can be in and teach them any kind of technique as far as racing, and then get them fed, make sure they are hydrated and then they have to go out and be competitive,” Van Sickle said.
Van Sickle explained that he implemented the extra practice of hills to get the girls prepared for the hills at state, and the hills are much easier on the body than running on a track.
As well as getting them in shape physically, the coaches helped the girls stay positive mentally by doing “As I See Its,” throughout the season. “As I See Its” are goal or objective sheets the coaches set for each individual runner before athletes compete in order to push them through races and to tell them how to improve.
Not only did the girls work hard physically, but they also worked to be more inclusive and tight-knit, which Van Sickle recognized.
“This year we worked really hard on making sure everyone was involved in the team and I think that’s why we are running so well because we are pushing each other,” said Beaver.
This commitment and competitive spirit were reflected in the team’s performance at state.
Russo explains that although there’s a lot of pressure at state, it’s the moment they’ve all been waiting for and they wanted to show what they could do.
